Kids reel in fun during centennial celebration

Al Weber, John Neville (covered by the flag) and Santos Chevez Jr. salute the colors during Saturday's program commemorating the Hennepin Canal's centennial.

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The weight of Benny Anderson's pond-caught bluegill didn't quite take the prize for biggest fish, but the fourth-grader had plenty to be happy about at Saturday's fishing derby.

All the kids got a prize - some little shavers walking away with shiny new poles and tackle - and, hey, Benny caught a few fish with his buddies.

Though the fourth-grader pulling a bluegill from Centennial Park was a brief moment in Rock Falls' celebration of 100 years of the Hennepin Canal, it represents the essence of what the canal means to those who play along its man-made banks.

"Most of us who have a great love for the canal grew up along it," said Gary Wagle, a resident of Rock Island and president of Friends of the Hennepin Canal.

At the finish line of an early-morning 5K run-walk, some residents proudly relay the information that the Rock Falls branch is the only feeder branch to the Hennepin Canal, which technically runs east-and-west from Rock Island to Hennepin (near Spring Valley) and was built to shorten the shipping distance between Chicago and the Mississippi River.

After the race, many participants and their families pedaled away down the canal's bicycle path, which was initially designed as a tow road for beasts of burden to pull barges.

Starting at the mouth of the canal, where the Rock River flows toward the Hennepin, a guide for free canoe rides mentioned one of the main reasons he purchased his Rock Falls home was the easy access to the canal bicycle path and some of the more challenging back trails that run into the wooded hills.

Because the water that runs through Rock Falls is engineered to keep the main branch at a constant depth, operators of the hydro plant place their priorities on keeping water flow constant, rather than generating electricity.

Commercially unsuccessful and financially impractical, it's what the Hennepin Canal stands for that people enjoy and what they came out to celebrate Saturday, rather than what it ever contributed to building the United States at the turn of the 20th century.

Ultimately, the canal was a spectacular commercial failure, Wagle says, but recreation was an unexpected offshoot.

The canal's litany of impracticalities - including an aqueduct that snakes under the Green River, rather than permitting the two to intersect - only add to its charm.

People pitch in money and donate time to keep afloat a fun piece of history that couldn't otherwise sustain itself.

Though the canal is protected by being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Wagle says that continued support is the only way to keep it viable for recreation.

"There are hundreds of these old canals in the United States, and a lot of them are dried up or back filled because they became obsolete," Wagle said. "I've even had people proposition me with converting this into farmland and using it that way."

Wagle's vision for the canal involves a reinvestment, of sorts, into the infrastructure. Reopen the locks, build docks, then invite tourists to take a leisurely cruise down the historic canal, Wagle proposes, similar to the canals of Europe, which have become major tourist destinations.

"But that's just my personal dream," Wagle concedes. In the mean time, it's more important to keep the canal clean and fun for those who live nearby, Wagle says.

For others at Saturday's centennial celebration, it was just a nice chance to get out on a sunny weekend and enjoy a little piece of Sauk Valley history.

Scott Howard, who directed the fishing derby along with the Rock Falls Optimist Club, gave a few words of wisdom for parents who brought the little shavers along for a morning along the canal:

"Keep your kids fishing. It keeps them out of trouble."

With the slow-moving waters of the Hennepin Canal, there will be a quiet place for the youngsters to dip poles in the water for years to come.

Reach Sam Smith at (815) 625-3600, (815) 284-2222 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 525.